Demolition Man
by Lightning Skies
Summary: What if Xander kept the weaponry and explosives knowledge from his soldier memories and used them for another purpose altogether? Rusty/Xander


_**Demolition Man**_

Lightning_skies

This is just a drabble that got stuck in my brain and wouldn't come loose till I wrote it down… on a receipt… at work. If people like it, I might consider writing other bits of the story, but I'm not planning a full-blown fic.

Post series Buffy, mid-movie for Ocean's 11 - It won't really make any sense unless you've already seen both. Some Spoilers.

Slash Rusty/Xander mentioned

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Danny looked out the restaurant's fake Chinese style gold gilt-lined window considering their selected line-up for a moment. They had an insider, two drivers, a greaseman, electronics, what else would they need… "Alright, munitions. How about-"

Rusty just shook his head as he sipped his Oolong. "Dead."

"No shit?" Surprised, the older man's gaze turned from the window. "When did that happen?"

"Last August. You sent a nice bouquet - made his wife cry."

"I always was thoughtful. Tungsten's in town."

Rusty raised an eyebrow curiously at his boothmate. "Didn't he threaten to shoot you?"

"He did shoot me."

"To be fair he did give you plenty of warnings first. I'd give Basher a call, but he threw in with some amateurs and is currently enjoying the hospitality of New York's finest."

There was silence for a moment as the pair each sorted through their expansive mental Rolodex of accomplices. Finally, Danny spoke up. "What about that guy you did the Cleveland job with - Harris?"

Rusty winced and looked away. "Ex."

"Ex?"

A terse nod. "Ex."

Rusty's relationship escapades and dramas were legendary, but this was the first time Danny had seen him show regret for a lost paramour. He usually just charmed the next young, beautiful thing he saw into bed with him to sooth any feelings of guilt or loneliness. It sounded like the blonde still had unresolved issues; the breakup must have been spectacular. "How bad?"

"I conned the family."

Danny sat back in his seat, stunned. "You conned the... NEVER con the family."

"I know."

"Then why?"

The younger con-man just shrugged, "Didn't know she was family. Unofficially adopted baby sister."

"Protective older brother?"

"Very."

"Which?" There were a variety of scams that Rusty could have run on a 'younger sister' type.

"Cosmetics salesman."

"That's not too bad."

"She was dorming at an all girls private school."

"You didn't." Of course he did, this was Rusty Ryan he was talking to, perpetually over the top, never-say-no, Rusty Ryan.

Predictably, the blonde shook his head ruefully. "I did."

With a small whistle, Danny gave him a sympathetic look. "Sister and her friends, that's damaging."

"Get's worse."

"Worse?"

"Worse. He's on the executive board at the school's main branch."

This was unbelievable on a level never seen or heard of in the real world; Rusty had managed to find a relationship twist that was pure soap opera. It sounded like a bad plot for a Passions episode. "Sister, her friends and his students?"

"Yeah."

"Ouch. You always did go for broke at the wrong time. Gonna need a big apology."

"Bangkok big."

"Bangkok? Isn't that the one where you..."

"Yeah."

"I thought you swore you'd never do it again?" Hell, he hated even talking about it or mentioning it. Bangkok had not been kind to the blonde's pride.

"I did, but it's for a good cause."

At that, Danny was silent for a moment. He sat quietly, just watching Rusty munch on his crab rangoon. "You've got it bad."

"Yup."

"Even though..."

"Yeah."

"What about..."

"None of them."

"Not one?"

"Not one."

"Can you...?"

"Yeah."

"Will he...?"

"Well, that's the question isn't it."

Danny took pity. "Do we really need him for this? We could find someone else." They didn't need to drag more exes into the picture on this job; Rusty was already going to flip when he found out about Tess.

"There's no one..."

"There are plenty of..."

"No one better."

"He's that good? Why isn't he a name?"

"He's not career. Just pulls jobs recreationally. Told me once that it was, and I quote, 'nice to get away from the pressures and dangers of real life for a while - to do something simple and safe.'"

"Simple? Safe? Are we talking about the same profession here?" He eyed Rusty dubitably, "Are you sure he stable?"

"Mostly. He IS good, though. Pulled his first job nicking equipment from an active army base at age 16. Blew up his high school during the graduation ceremony. Best part is that he's got no record. No one has ever pinned so much as a speeding ticket on him. Rumour says he may even have been the one who put Sunnydale in the ground." Danny just stared at him incredulously, where had Rusty found this kid? "I know a guy who knows a guy who was there. Xander and his crew evacuated the town a week before the supposed land subsidence or earthquake or whatever the government is claiming. There's never been any seismic proof of any of the prevalent theories and there would have been no warnings or indications to suggest that anything was coming. But, he and his gang were alone in town for a few days and then were seen outrunning the collapse in a school bus. It had to have been them."

"Huh. No wonder the conspiracy theorists love Sunnydale. This kid sounds like an urban terrorist, but if you can vouch for his character…" Rusty wiped his mouth with his napkin and nodded. "Right. We've got a demo man."

=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=

Distribution: FFN (Lightning_Skies), Twisting the Hellmouth (LightningSkies)  
Author has given no other permissions.  
846 Words - 4 Pages - 07/12/09


End file.
